Journey for a minimalist, montessori, meaningful lifestyle

DIY Object Permanence Box

You can buy a professional object permanence box for about $20 to $30 on Amazon, but I couldn’t justify the expense. So I decided to make my own object permanence box! First I took a trip to hobby lobby….

The small crate was 4.99. The box to drop the ball into is a 1.99 wooden box turned upside down. It had a rope handle that I removed. The ball is slightly smaller than 2″ across as I was worried about a choking hazard. I got 6 balls for 3.99, bringing our total to about $8 for materials used, $11 with the extra balls.

Using a dremel, I carved out a not-quite-perfect arch in the front and hole in the top. Then I used wood glue to attach the arch to the bottom crate. I sanded the entire thing and presented it to N.

N has a hard time using this if she is tired/sick- she finds it frustrating that she cannot pull her hand out of the hole if she’s holding the ball. I might recommend creating a wedge to place under the tray for younger babies so that the ball will roll out. When she’s in a good mood, N loves this- and, it doubles as a hiding spot for stuffing other items!